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“He was openly talking about this. So Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him.” (Mark 8:32)

I read this recently and laughed. LOL in fact.

The innocence of Peter here. The verses before tell us Jesus was teaching that He “must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, be killed, and rise after three days.” (Mark 8:31)

Peter didn’t like what he heard. It wasn’t right. It didn’t seem fair. Or proper. Or probably even Biblical to him at the time.

So, Peter took him aside to rebuke him.

(As a side note, I’m glad Peter took him aside to rebuke him. I’m glad he didn’t blast Jesus in a group setting. I know some church people who could learn from Peter on that one.)

Imagine though. Peter rebuking Jesus.

He didn’t like what he was hearing…he didn’t like what Jesus was saying…the direction Jesus was leading…so he offered a bold rebuke.

Wow! That’s almost funny to me.

Peter, the disciple Jesus had recruited, the understudy…the former fisherman…rebuked Jesus. The Master. The Savior. The Creator. The King.

Following Peter’s rebuke, Jesus turned to rebuke Peter. Unknown to Peter…or at least not understood at the time…Jesus had a plan. Already. And, once again, Jesus had the final word

But then the focus of this post changes. Because then there is you. And me.

Have you ever rebuked Jesus?

Ever wanted to?

Be honest.

Has Jesus ever allowed something you thought was unfair? Or improper? Or maybe not even Biblical as you would determine it?

You expected more from Him. You thought, because of His love for you (which is greater than you can imagine) that He would use His power (which is greater than you can imagine) to interrupt time and intercede on your behalf. You thought after all you had done…for Him…as a person. (That hurts to say if it is true, doesn’t it?)

You thought He would write a better story with your life. You thought He would have responded differently than how He has responded.

So, you took Jesus aside and rebuked Him.

Or maybe you were afraid to be that honest. But, if you were honest…really honest…Jesus’ response to your life has disappointed you. Inside, if we could examine your heart…or mine…your reaction to Jesus’ plan was a rebuke. (Maybe you should be that honest. Peter was.)

Don’t be afraid to be honest with God.

As you offer your rebuke, however, learn from Peter’s experience. Remember you may not know or understand, but Jesus has things under control. He has a plan. Already.

As He did when talking to Peter, He will have the final word in your life.

“As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5)

I have fond memories growing up of a sweet, older lady who worked in our church nursery, watching children while the parents went to Sunday School and worship service. She had a quiet disposition. She was easy to love. I remember wanting to hug her every week. She diligently changed diapers, wiped noses, and cleaned up toys after toddlers emptied the toy boxes. She never complained, she just did it. She was loved by all who knew her.

As far as I know, she never had her name announced in a church service. She didn’t serve on committees, have a building, or even a room in the church named after her. From what I knew where she lived and she didn’t appear to have a lot of money. She was just a simple lady, with a lot of class, and a whole lot of love. I have a suspicion that if she had ever had a need, someone in the church would have easily come forward to meet it, because she was a princess among people.

What was special about this lady?

It wasn’t her position. It wasn’t her bank account. It wasn’t her connections. (She probably had more power by popularity, but she wasn’t the type to ever use it.) It wasn’t even her abilities. There were others who might have been more qualified, at least on paper, than she was at her work.

As I reflect on her, I think she was special because of what was in her heart. She treated everyone the same; with love and grace. She had a servant’s heart. It wasn’t what she did. It was who she was. She loved people and so she wanted to give them the best of herself.

When I think of this verse I think of her…and many like her. She was great among mankind, because of her servant’s heart.

What defines your greatness?

Are you great, because of the standards set by society, or are you great because of the love within your heart?

In God’s Kingdom, greatness is never greater than when defined by a servant’s heart.

Over the last few days, my Internet world has been inundated with news about the death of Rick Warren’s son Matthew. When I got the word Saturday, my heart surely skipped a beat. I have grown to love Rick. I don’t know him well, but I have had the privilege of being with him numerous times and found him to be genuine and deeply concerned for the well being of anyone who he meets. He’s definitely a pastor’s pastor.

I debated sharing this story. I don’t want to appear to sensationalize the issue. It’s getting enough attention. After reading numerous negative stories about Rick, his family, and Matthew (I honestly don’t know why anyone would choose a time like this to personally attack someone), I asked permission from one of the leaders at Saddleback to share my experience with Rick concerning his son Matthew.

A couple years ago, I had the awesome experience of visiting the inner workings of Saddleback Church. I was asked, along with a couple other pastors, to help them think through some of their online presence ministering to pastors. (One way Rick wants to end his ministry is by using his influence to bless other pastors. They have made Pastors.com a tremendous free resource.) It was an incredible trip. I had been to Saddleback, but on this trip, I got the complete behind the scenes tour. I was in the green room before Rick spoke. I got to hang out many from their staff. I left even more impressed with the depth of their ministry. Any rumor or thought someone has that they are a “watered-down” Bible teaching church is clearly wrong. I can vouch for that.

Rick Warren, the infamous, bigger-than-life, founding pastor was there. He was very engaging to all of us and made us feel extremely welcome. Most of our time was spent with other staff members, but Rick was intentional about spending time with us. If you are a pastor, I promise, you will never get close to him without receiving a bear hug.

The last afternoon we were there, Rick called a couple other pastors and me into his office. I could tell he was dealing with something. He wasn’t as jovial as he normally is. He closed the door and told us he needed our prayers. He told us that few knew what he was about to tell us and asked that we be willing to keep it confidential. (I haven’t shared it with anyone until now.)

He then told us that his son Matthew had struggled with a deep depression all of his life. They had done everything they could for him. They had sought advice from experts. He had seen doctors and counselors. Obviously, they had prayed constantly. Nothing worked. To protect Matthew, Rick had shared with very few people about Matthew’s mental illness. I can understand that as a parent.

Matthew was a great young man, with a huge heart and a deep love for people. It’s obvious from my experience he inherited at least part of that quality from Rick. Matthew loved Christ. He loved his family. For whatever reason though, Matthew couldn’t shake the depression. He, therefore, never found or realized his ultimate purpose in life. Imagine the irony of that. The son of the author of Purpose Driven Life couldn’t find his purpose. It reminds me that there will always be things in life we cannot understand.

Rick wanted us to pray, because Matthew had made some recent threats against his life. It wasn’t the first time he had done so. He had been doing so well lately, but it was obvious Rick was taking this current threat very serious. (As any parent would and you always should with any suicide threat.) Rick was deeply troubled and concerned and asked us to pray for his son.

Rick doesn’t know this, but I have prayed for Matthew almost every time I thought of Rick since that day. If I saw Rick’s tweets, I said a prayer for Matthew.

You see, what Rick also doesn’t know is that I’ll never forget that moment. It made a lasting impression on me. It was surreal. It was heart breaking. Rick was a “bigger than life” pastor in my mind. He was wildly successful in his career. He was humble, genuine, and took a personal interest in me. I probably mistakenly believed that Rick never dealt with the personal issues and struggles most of us outside the limelight live with everyday. I know that’s not true, but we tend to forget everyone has a story they are living…some of it will be good…some of it not so good. Even people of faith have days of despair. All of us have questions without answers. More than anything, however, that moment was a demonstration to me that no matter how powerful a figure you are, no matter how influential you become, you’re always vulnerable when it comes to your children.

Rick Warren wasn’t the pastor of a mega-church that day. He wasn’t the best-selling author of “Purpose Driven Life”. He wasn’t the internationally known church leader who knows presidents and kings of nations. Rick was a dad. Simply a dad. A great, big, loving, and tenderhearted dad with puppy dog tears and a situation he could do nothing to change. In that moment, I also witnessed first hand that Rick was fully surrendered. Fully dependent on God.

I don’t understand the term “mental illness”. I don’t understand depression. I know it is real, because in my ministry I have dealt with it many times. I don’t understand many of the physical ailments of our day. I don’t understand why Matthew struggled so long. I don’t understand why Rick and Kay had to carry…and will carry for a lifetime…the pain in their hearts over their beloved son. I don’t understand.

But, I know this. Rick had fully and completely surrendered his son to Christ…then and obviously now. And, even today, Christ is in control…of Rick…of Matthew…of you and me.

I’m praying for you Rick. Thanks for showing me the true love of a dad. Just imagine how much God must love us!

I continually have well-meaning believers who want me to get more involved in the political debates of religion and culture. And, sometimes I do. There are certainly battles to fight. Big battles. Human slavery. For one example. Ridiculous. Let’s end it now.

For the fights I choose I vote. I speak to representatives in government when I can. I’ve written letters…even letters to the editor in years past. I’m actually friends with a few people in government. Numerous people. And, I’m not afraid to use my influence where I feel it is most effective.

Plus, I realize some people have a specific calling to fight the battle on “capital hill”. I admire and support them in their calling. I actually know of few of those “called” elected servants personally. In fact, I once served in an elected office. I firmly believe followers of Christ need to take active roles in civil affairs…in the world.

Most of the time, however, I feel like I have a higher calling these days. Higher for me. And, I’ve got to live out my calling, as you do yours.

Sometimes as believers though, I think we need to learn the battles to fight and the ones to let go. It seems to me that many believers (people) are always looking for a fight. Some, it seems to me…if I’m completely honest…are especially looking for the fight about the issue they care about most.

I wonder, however, if we should choose our battles more carefully, knowing that ultimately the outcome of the war has already been decided. Our mission now is the Great Commission. We are to make disciples. That begins with telling our story. It seems to me it is harder to get people to listen if we are always fighting with them. Sometimes it seems our argument is louder than our message…our ultimate message.

Getting people to hear about Jesus seems more important than making sure everyone complies with our view of morality. Yes, our Biblical view of morality. If they knew Jesus…He does a pretty good (really good) job of making people more holy. (I realize that’s the simplistic view. But, I’m a pretty simple guy.)

It’s a consistent battle for me…an internal battle…whether to get involved publicly or sit this one out and pray.

Recently the words of Paul from 2 Timothy encouraged me in this realm.

“instructing his opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance leading them to the knowledge of the truth.” 2 Timothy 2:25

I realize I won’t please everyone when I don’t fight the battle of their preference. I even realize some who read this will assume I’m refusing to speak on “their” issue. That’s okay. Being misunderstood sometimes isn’t that bad.

I love the local church. I really do. I believe it is God’s design and His plan to reach the world with the Gospel…with life and hope.

But, I hate church drama.

I really do. I hate destructive drama in any setting, but especially in the church. It shouldn’t exist. It especially shouldn’t exist in the church. We have to violate a lot of principles of God’s plan for the church and for believers for it to exist at all, but, even still, it does.

Drama. Gossip. Back-stabbing. Politics. Jockeying for power. Rumors. It’s destructive and has no part in the local church. I’ve seen lots of it. And, along the way I’ve learned a few things.

Here are 10 things I’ve learned about church drama:

Not all rumors are true. Most aren’t.

People like to expand on what they know. Or think they know.

There are consequences to sin. Even though there is grace. Some confuse that.

Some people enjoy telling others “the good stuff”. With practice, some have even learned to make things bigger and “better” than they really are.

Gossip destroys.

There is usually more to the story than what you know. But it may or may not be what your mind stretches it to be.

Many people never consider the ramifications of what they are saying.

Some of the juiciest gossip is disguised as a prayer request.

Thumper’s mom was right.

The only reliable source is the direct source.

For those who have given up on church because of the drama…Please reconsider. I still believe in the local church. I think we need people who like me…hate the drama of church and just want to live out the Gospel. Don’t let the drama keep you away. Come be a part of ending it.